Learning to Manipulate
by envy.and.pride
Summary: In order to escape from her prison, Sakura learns to use the situation to her advantage... ItaSakuDei
1. Prologue

**Learning to Manipulate**

**Alrighty, so this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic, so sorry if is sucks. Anyway, this is just a prologue, setting the scene, to see if it attracts any interest. So, I won't bother publishing other chapters if it gets no response. Please review. D**

**Rating: Pretty frequent coarse language and adult themes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Sakura sighed. They were at it again. And in _her _room. With the door locked. It was hell.

"Can't you leave me in peace?" She growled from her sitting position in the corner of the dark room, her back up against the cold wall. "If I leave you alone, he wouldn't." The blonde Deidara replied, shooting an angry glance at the other in the room. "You shouldn't talk." Itachi spat back at his fellow Akatsuki member. "I see the lust in your eyes, man. Won't be long until you _rape_ the poor girl." They seemed to forget her presence, each intent on crushing the other. Luckily they never fought _physically_. Sakura leaned her head back until it hit the wall with a faint thump. At least when they fought in the day she could get away from them.

Akatsuki had been holding her captive for nearly a week now. A move against Naruto to get Kyuubi, perhaps? She was little more than bait. But she was used to Itachi and Deidara's fights over her. In the first few days, she noticed their odd looks, registered their interest in her. It scared her. They didn't seem like the type to care about a teenaged girls' innocence. Luckily, neither had touched her yet- they were both territorial beasts, keen to secure her as their own before they did. Now they did little to hide their obsession with the little pink girl. It was pretty obvious anyway, and none of the other members seemed to care. Much to Sakura's annoyance. Though she was grateful for the little freedom she had, being allowed to wander about two or three different rooms as she pleased, confined to her room only at night.

"Why are you here anyway?" Itachi asked the blonde suspiciously, his crimson eyes narrowed. "Her dinner, un." He pointed at a tray of uneaten food sitting next to Sakura, where she had shoved it moodily. "What about you?" Itachi didn't answer, instead striding sullenly over to the door and unlocking it, turning back for a moment. "I don't think you should be left alone with her." He glared at the artist. "Come." Deidara followed the Uchiha out the door, pausing for a second to wink at Sakura with his one vivid blue eye.

"Huh… Just kill me already…" The kunoichi muttered to herself after they were leaving. She looked at the food hesitantly and picked up a piece of fruit. She didn't really want to eat it. Who knew what they had put in it? But her stomach protested loudly, reminding her that people needed food to function properly. How could she expect to do anything against Akatsuki when she was starving herself to death. She nibbled at the fruit, not really tasting it. As usual, her mind was elsewhere. She fervently hoped Naruto didn't fall into the trap set for him, she hoped Tsunade had more sense than to let him go. Since her nights were pretty much devoid of entertainment, Sakura walked slowly over to the bed on the other side of the room. It was alright- nothing special but nothing horrible. _At least they're taking care of me. _ She thought. _But why?_ The question stuck with her as she turned out the light and fell onto the bed. _I need to start thinking about how to get out of this hellhole…_ Sakura thought hopelessly. _Before Naruto comes running straight to his death... _She felt sorry for the blonde. Always targeted because of something that was no fault of his. It must have been hard for him. Sakura was startled out of her thoughts as she heard the creak of hinges. The door opened a crack and Sakura sat bolt upright in her bed. She wished she had left the light on in the now dark and forbidding room. She squinted to see who had opened the door, through the yellow light spilling into the room. Her breath caught in fear as she saw Deidara silhouetted in the doorway. _Men are like dogs. _She told herself. _You can't let them see your fear. _"What the fuck are you doing here again?" Sakura growled. "Little girls shouldn't use that sort of language…" He chided, a sly smile on his face as he made his way around to the bed. "You didn't answer my question…" She glared at him. "Tell me." Deidara shook his head at her like a mother scolding her child. "I don't think you're in any position to demand such things from me." He said, sitting next to her on the bed. "Shut up…" She muttered, annoyed that he was true. Anger boiled up inside her and she brought her hand up to slap the calm, cool, condescending look off his face. He grabbed her wrist before it connected. "I see you're strong. But you haven't got the speed to match. You haven't got the _finesse_." He brought his face closer to hers, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Shut up bastard." She aimed a punch at his face with her other hand. Again he stopped it. "Again, the same thing." He moved closer still, and then pressed his lips to hers, holding both her wrists tightly. Before she had a chance to protest, the blonde forced his tongue into her mouth. "Leave me the fuck alone!" Sakura yelled and pulled away as her anger erupted. "If you stick your tongue in my mouth again, I'll bite the fucking thing off!" She literally shook with anger. "Was that your… first kiss?" Deidara teased, seeming utterly pleased with himself. "Fuck off." The kunoichi mumbled. "I'd say that's a yes then." He let her arms go and stood up. He had had his fun. At least for the time being. He shut the door and Sakura curled up on her bed, as small as she could, trying to cut off her anger so she could at least get some sleep. But just as she was about to sleep, she'd hear a slight sound, like a door opening and would be pulled suddenly back to consciousness. "Stupid gender-confused retard…" She muttered, blaming the blonde shinobi for her insomnia.

Eventually she may have got an hour or two of sleep, but all Sakura knew was that as light crept through the small windows, she was as tired and angry as hell. So when she heard the door opening, she was ready to give Deidara a piece of her mind. "I bet you think last night was really funny, eh, bastard?" She growled without even glancing at the doorway. "I don't remember anything last night…" The kunoichi heard back. _Shhhhit._ She thought. That wasn't Deidara's voice. That was Itachi. "So. What was it that you were doing last night?" He asked, walking in and placing the tray of breakfast on Sakura's bed. "With… Deidara?" He had guessed it… It was like he could see into her very mind. It was disconcerting. What would he do if he found out that Deidara had taken a step towards her already? Try to go one step further? Or just kill her for it… "He… he was just playing a joke. It was annoying." The girl lied with conviction. Well it was kind of a joke… and it _was_ annoying. "That's good…" Itachi turned his back. "If he did anything else I'd have to kill him."

Maybe the statement was his idea of a joke, or maybe he really was serious, but whatever it was, it sparked an idea in Sakura's head as Itachi worked out. If Itachi would kill his fellow member just because of something she said… She could use this to her advantage. Sakura could use this to escape. She would learn how to manipulate.

**So what did you think? Should I start writing a new chapter or just give it up…**

**And there won't be any lemons in this fic. Sakura isn't a whore.**

**That's all for now.**

**s2- Envy**


	2. A Test in Trickery

**Learning to Manipulate**

**Chapter Two- A Test in Trickery**

**Chapter two... Yes thank you for your reviews and interests. Great boost to my ego. Maybe I should stop writing before I get too up myself. XD Keep reading!**

_A test… that was what Sakura needed. _She stalked silently around the few rooms she was allowed in, looking for Itachi or Deidara. What was wrong, when she hated them, she did all she could to hide, and they always came and found her. But now, she needed them to test out her idea… and there was no one in sight. Not even the other members of Akatsuki- Kisame, Hidan, Tobi, all the others who flitted in occasionally, after an 'outing'. They usually didn't stay around for long though. Sakura suspected that Itachi and Deidara had specifically asked to be the ones to guard their hostage. She wished they hadn't.

"Where the fuck is that retard now?" She muttered to herself, looking around the room she was in angrily. She had absolutely no idea what she would do if she actually found someone…. She hadn't thought that far ahead…

"And which retard would that be, yeah?" Deidara's sudden satirical voice and his hand on her shoulder made Sakura jump. "Oh… its you." Sakura said, coming up with a plan to test her idea as quickly as she could. "Who'd you think it might have been?" He asked, teasing. "Well… I was scared that it might have been Itachi. I've… I've been avoiding him all day." She looked to the floor, hiding the smirk that she couldn't keep off her face.

Already there was suspicion in his eyes, maybe even anger. "Why?" The simple word made Sakura smirk all the more. She forced it off her face and looked at him with eyes shining with tears, the innocent pink-haired girl put on a scared-bunny act easily. "This morning… he was… I-I don't want to say." She left it to his imagination. After all, he knew the ebony haired Uchiha more than she did. She almost saw his mind working through his blonde hair. "That bastard!" He scowled, turning around and heading down the hallway. Sakura smiled to herself and walked back to her bedroom. _It worked… on Deidara at least. _Sakura lay on her bed, looking at the ceiling. The first thing she had to do, and had done was discover her power. Now she needed to figure out how she could use it…

Deidara brought her dinner that night, said a few words that Sakura didn't reply to, and left with a cryptic smile and wink. _I wonder what happened to Itachi… _She laughed and got a few minutes of entertainment imagining him blown to pieces…Sakura sighed. The dreary place was boring. Still. She started counting dark spots on the ceiling… One… two… three… One that looked like Deidara… "What?!" She muttered to herself. "Why the hell am I thinking about that loser?" She mumbled. It made no sense… She turned around on her side and shut her eyes stubbornly, confident that no one would come 'visit' her in the night. She finally felt safe as she drifted off to sleep.

That morning Deidara brought her breakfast with a smug grin on his face. Maybe he thought that because she didn't like Itachi, it meant that she liked him. He put the tray down on a table and sat down next to her on the bed. Before she had time to react, her pulled her towards him and into his strong embrace. Sakura knew what was coming next… "No fucking way!" She used all of her strength to push him away from her. "Aww… don't you get lonely in here all by yourself, yeah?" He crept towards her again. "Yes." She admitted. "But if you wanted to make sure that I wasn't lonely, then you could try fucking talking to me." Sakura pointed out, glaring at Deidara. "Well… what do you want to talk about?" He seemed puzzled. "I don't want to talk at the moment." She growled. "Fine, yeah." Deidara stood up. "I'll talk to you _later_ then." He walked out, still looking pleased with himself.

Sakura was puzzled… Maybe she had gotten the wrong impression from him. He seemed like he actually wanted her to like him, like he didn't just want to randomly sexually harass her. She cut off her thoughts suddenly. She couldn't have those kind of thoughts if she wanted to escape from this place… How could she run away if she got attached to anyone there? Sakura started eating the food, but hardly tasted it. It was finished off pretty quickly. Maybe she should have talked for a while with Deidara. She had nothing to do but wait for lunch. She wished she had a book or something to read. Something to learn, something to do… Sakura stood up after much consideration and walked out of the room. Her room only had one door which lead out into a larger room, with two lounges and a table. It was like a living room, but no one really went there. The few times she had sat there, Itachi had come to sit next to her and she had moved away. One of the doors in there led to a bathroom, pretty boring and plain. Another of the doors in the living room went to a courtyard, which she was allowed to wander in, but the gate from the courtyard was always closed and locked. She had even tried breaking it, the seemingly weak thing that was all that was between her and freedom, but it stubbornly refused to break or even bend.

Sakura wandered into the living room and sat down. She stared at the other door, set in the fourth wall of the room. Beyond there was just a hallway, with a few doors to the sides, but she was never allowed in there. Deidara and Itachi slept in there perhaps? But at the end of the hallway was a door, sometimes opened and leading straight to freedom. The front door… But that was closed off to her. She sat down and continued staring at the door. She half expected someone to come through there at any moment. Maybe she even hoped for it. But no one came, for as long as she watched. So she decided to go outside. It was equally as boring.

A tree, surrounded by grass, set next to a gate in the high walls surrounding the courtyard. She sat under the tree with a sigh. Sighing. It seemed that was all she was doing lately. A leaf fluttered down from the tree, landing in front of her. "How fucking poetic." Sakura growled. That simple thing just seemed to piss her off. "How poetic indeed, yeah." Sakura looked up suddenly at Deidara, who had suddenly appeared in front of her. She didn't even notice him until he spoke. "Lunch already?" She asked. "Well I can take it back if you don't want it…" He shrugged, setting it down on the ground near her, and sitting down next to her. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked, puzzled. "Talking, yeah. So… uh… do you like poetry?" Sakura looked away, It was kind of weird to be talking to him like this. "Yeh. I guess." She shrugged. "You like art, yeah?" She turned her head to look back at him. An artist. Of course he'd talk about art. "Well it depends on what you classify as art…" The kunoichi mumbled. "Art is something that's beautiful…" He moved his lips closer to her ear. Sakura tensed, just in case he did something… "And if that's the case…" Deidara continued. "Then, I could call you art, yeah…" He whispered in her ear. Maybe she would have done something, but she was frozen. Not by fear or even anger, but a strange feeling, a tight knot in her stomach.

"What do you mean?" Sakura's mind went blank. "I mean…" He smiled. "You're beautiful, Sakura-chan." Maybe he was trying to go a bit slower, but first he kissed her on the cheek. The touch sent a shiver down Sakura's spine, and Deidara noticed. He laughed and ran a hand through her hair. Sakura found herself unable to do anything. Maybe even unwilling. But whatever it was, Deidara noticed this as well. "Whats wrong, un?" He asked. "I'm hungry." She growled, pushing him away from her. The food was already half cold, but it was an excuse to get out of a bad situation. It didn't taste too bad, and Deidara left her to eat in peace. She finished, leaving the tray behind in the yard. Why would she care about cleaning up when she was a prisoner?

Deidara brought her dinner that night as well, but left pretty much straight away, with a look that was almost disappointment on his face. Almost as soon as she had finished, the door opened again. "Why are you back?" She growled, and looked up. _Shit…_ It was Itachi again. She really had to start looking at who she was talking to. "What did you tell Deidara?" He asked, glaring at her. "Nothing." Sakura smiled sweetly at him. "You're even cuter when you're being _evil_…" Itachi smirked back at her. _Shit this guy had the opposite reaction to what I expected. _"What happened anyway… I haven't seen you since yesterday." _And it made my day a lot better… _She added to herself. "Nothing." He shrugged. "It was just his day with you."

Sakura glared at him. "His _day_? What, you're taking turns with me, just like I'm a toy or something?!" She shouted, standing up off the chair she was sitting in, though she barely reached his chin. She wished he _had _ been blown to bits… "Exactly." He smirked. "And its my turn now…" He advanced on her, pushing her backwards until she fell onto the bed, and he fell on top of her, pinning her. "Get off!" She pushed uselessly against him for a few minutes before giving up. "Why do you struggle so much about a love that was meant to be?" His eyes bored into her, as she glared back. "This isn't love, this is fucking rape!" She hissed. "Don't deny it." Itachi said as he lay on the bed, pulling her up so that her head was on his chest. The heat from his body was comforting… It was making her feel sleepy. Itachi ran his hands through her hair. "You have such pretty hair…" He muttered into her ear. "Fuck off…" She muttered back, but she couldn't muster the strength to say it any louder. She suddenly felt so tired, her eyelids felt heavy. "What the fuck was in my dinner?" She managed to murmur before she fell asleep. Itachi just laughed as she fell asleep in his arms.

Sakura woke up the next morning, with the Uchiha's arms still wrapped around her. She looked back at his face. He was sleeping. It was funny how peaceful his face was when he was sleeping. She tried to get up, but even when he wasn't conscious, his grip was still strong. _God… I have to wait until he wakes up… _She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep, but their closeness was just disconcerting. "God…" Sakura breathed and rolled her eyes. She wanted to get up already… She half closed her eyes and lay her head back down on his chest. _Eaugh. _The thought of it made her cringe, but she had no-where else to rest her head.

She stared for what seemed like hours at her favorite blank stretch of wall before he finally stirred. "Finally." She grunted as he opened his eyes. "Let me get up already." Itachi smiled down at her and tightened his grip. "Not yet…" His smile widened. "You'd better not try anything. Or I'll kill you." Sakura warned. "I'd like to see you try." Itachi replied coolly. _He's not fazed by anything… _It annoyed her. In her mind, everyone had at least one weakness, though Itachi didn't seem to even have one. He stroked her face with his annoyingly warm fingers. Or it was annoying the way it made her feel… "At least come back later. You have the whole fucking day with me, right?" She said dryly. She needed time by herself to gather her thoughts. "Fine." He agreed, releasing her.

She moved away from him as he left, glaring after him. They had stopped fighting over her and allocated _days _for them to spend with her? It was almost unbearable. _And _they were getting bolder with every day that passed._ How to escape? _ The topic would need some thought. But in the meantime… Perhaps she could find some entertainment in the dreary building. Entertainment by manipulating her two pursuers. She was sure that she could make them do whatever she wanted them to.

**Right done.**

**I apologize if it wanders a little, because it was written over quite a few days and doesn't quite connect in some places. Anyways, read, review and I'll get to writing the next **_**chapitere**_

**That's all for now!**

**s2- Envy**


	3. Amusing or Alarming?

**Learning to Manipulate**

**Chapter 3- Amusing or Alarming?**

**I'm sorry that this chapter took so long. I'm back at school, so I have lots of homework and stuff now. But I hope it was worth the effort. I hope you have fun reading it.**

Sakura stifled her laughs with her hand as she watched the two grown men dancing together. Itachi had suggested that she do something to occupy her time. She had asked, with a cheeky smile, that they teach her to dance. And so, as a demonstration, Itachi had to perform a lovely romantic waltz with Deidara. He couldn't refuse, unless he couldn't dance. She couldn't help but smirk as they shot death glares at each other as they circled around the room, all for the pink haired kunoichi's entertainment. She could see Itachi's barely concealed anger. It pleased Sakura to see that at least _something_ irked him, that he wasn't completely impassive.

"Enough." Itachi growled and dropped Deidara's hand. "I'll dance with _you_ now." He turned to Sakura with a coy smile. "I think I should dance with Deidara first." She smiled innocently, watching as he rolled his eyes and sat down where Sakura was before. "This was your idea, yeah?" Deidara asked her and grinned. She shrugged. "I'm bored." Sakura watched their feet as he led her around. Eye contact could be… awkward. She picked up the basic movements of the dance fairly quickly, and her feet were getting boring. Sakura's gaze traveled up to Deidara's chest, and lingered there. They flicked up to his eyes, almost unintentionally, and was caught by his vivid blue eyes. He looked smug, and moved gracefully. It probably showed in her eyes, because she knew Deidara could tell what she was thinking. It irked her that both him and Itachi could read her like a book. Embarrassed, she screwed her eyes shut and pulled away from him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Itachi stand up. _Great… _She groaned inwardly as he took up her hand and swept her up to dance again. She was already sick of dancing. But even this was worth it to have seen them dancing together. Itachi's hand gripped her waist possessively, and his other hand squeezed hers tightly. At least Deidara was gentler, compared to the way Itachi roughly threw her around. After about half an hour more of switching between the two, she sat down, tired of continual spinning and twirling. It was making her dizzy. But at least it passed the time. And it meant that she wasn't alone with either one of them. She could tell Itachi felt cheated of 'his day' alone with her.

"If you're done dancing, then Deidara can go, yes?" Itachi was thinking the same thing as Sakura was. _Damn it._ "Yeh I guess." She mumbled. Deidara looked disappointed as he opened the door forbidden to Sakura. Her mind worked fast as she saw that the front door was opened, tantalizing her with views of freedom. Her chances of getting past both Itachi and Deidara to get out the door were slim, but it was worth a try. She gathered as much chakra as she could to her feet, and then sprinted. She leaped over the lounge and surprisingly, made it through the first door. But just as she was almost out the front door, she ran straight into Deidara's arms. It was so infuriating, _straight _to him.

"It seems like she wants to stay with me." Deidara walked her back into the middle room with a laugh, holding her shoulders firmly. Itachi laughed as well, grabbing her wrist as Deidara handed her back, like a dog that escaped from its leash, making a dash for freedom. It was only when she had calmed down that she realized something. She had been there for so long and had only just realized. Her chakra. It was just a tiny fraction of what it usually was. "If you want to go outside, then you can go out the back." Itachi said slowly, like someone explaining something very simple to a little child. "Hmh." Sakura grunted crossly. "You can let go of me now." She glared at him as Deidara disappeared through the door again. "But you might try to run off again. And we couldn't have that…" His grip on her wrist tightened. It hurt. "How could I?" She said innocently. "The door's already closed." She just wanted his strong, possessive grip off her. "Fine." He let go of Sakura's hand and pushed her into the room.

Now Sakura was scared. He was in a bad mood- it was just too obvious. Sakura wondered if the entertainment she had gained from this venture was really worth it. Whether it was worth it or not, the brief moment was now well and truly over. Itachi came into the room behind her and shut the door. "Leave me alone." Sakura shot a glare at him. "I'm tired." She sat down on the bed, before realizing that could be a bad idea. "But I've got to make the most of what's left of my day with you…"

In a flash, he was on the bed next to her. She stood up almost as fast, walking away from the bed. She was going to be smarter this time, wasn't going to fall victim to Itachi's tricks. He stood up and was in front of her again. "Scared?" He smiled. He obviously thought it was all a game. "No." Sakura denied, walking backwards, away from him. "Just a little?" He asked, following her. "Its hard to fear when you _hate_ so much." She spat back, still retreating. "Don't hate me." He said imploringly, his gradual steps towards him slow and menacing. "I'm not that bad… if you get to know me." He smiled. "I'd rather not…" Sakura growled. She jumped as she bumped into something behind her.

The corner. _That bastard! _He'd cornered her. "Why don't you give it a try?" He whispered and kept moving towards her, until he couldn't get any closer. "Don't." Sakura glared at him, but changed her tactic. "Please?" She thought that that would work better than swearing mindlessly. Itachi stared at her for a minute before stepping back. "I won't… If you don't want me to…" He moved back and sat on the bed. "Huh?" Sakura was surprised. "I told you I wasn't so bad." Itachi raised an eyebrow. Sakura sat down on the far side of the bed, away from him. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all… "Trust me now?" He smiled at her, not moving towards her as she expected him to. "A little…" Sakura returned the smile, though only slightly.

"I wouldn't if I were you…" His well-meaning smile turned into a sly grin as he moved suddenly, right next to her. "Bastard." Maybe she wasn't the only one doing the manipulating… He had caught her off guard, and she couldn't do anything about it without her chakra. He grabbed her shoulders and once again moved closer. Sakura turned her head away from him, uncertain of what he was going to do. He took one hand off her should to move her head back, forcing her to look at him. "Don't deny it." Closer. "Deny what?" She was getting angry again, though Itachi had seemingly lost his anger. Closer again. Too close for comfort. How many times did he have to do this? "The… attraction." He barely even had to whisper for Sakura to hear it. "What the hell?" And with her hands un-restrained, she slapped Itachi. Without chakra it was only a superficial slap, but the rapidly forming red mark on his cheek made her feel proud. It was obvious that his pride was damaged as he stood up abruptly, his hand over his cheek. He glared at Sakura and left, slamming the door behind him. She heard the lock click and the sound of footsteps walking away from the door. She lay down on the bed with a sigh. That was close. Maybe she'd alienated him completely. Hopefully she had. Then he would leave her alone. She smiled, imagining what Sasuke would react if she told him she slapped Itachi. But she hadn't seen Sasuke in so long… In a way, Itachi reminded her of his little brother. There was such a strong resemblance between the two brothers. It brought back memories. How happy she'd be if Sasuke showed the same kind of attention to her as Itachi did…

Dinner never came, and Sakura started getting hungry. Only when she was denied food that she realized how well they actually fed her for a prisoner. A prisoner… She wanted to escape, fast. She obviously wasn't doing much stuck in there. It wasn't much help to anyone. She had figured out by then that she wasn't being held at their main base. Maybe some small base or even a captured house. So finding out her location would do no good. A plan… She had formulated one earlier. It wasn't all that smart but it would do. Hopefully it would get her out. Away from the madness…

**Woah, LONG time writing that one but its finally finished.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. There might be two more chapters, but I think the next might be the last. It depends on how much I write.**

**s2- Envy**


	4. Revelations and Repentance

**Learning to Manipulate**

**Chapter 4- Revelations and Repentance**

**The last chapter. There is no more, so don't ask for another update. Perhaps I will write a sequel, in time, but for now just… read it.**

Sakura walked across her floor, seemingly sulking as she stared sullenly at the floor. But in reality, she was concentrating intently. If she found out how they controlled her chakra, she'd have a chance of escaping. If she had it back, that flimsy door wouldn't stand a chance against her 'insane' strength.

If it was just their chakra restraining hers, she could distract them… but if it was something else, she'd have to take it out first, hopefully without them realising. It was so hard. She wished someone was there to help her out.

She watched the last golden light of the day disappear from the one small window with a sigh. It was only a day ago when she had slapped and angered Itachi, making that a day since she had had food, or even seen anyone. Maybe she had gone too far. At least no one was bothering her. She slept peacefully for one night, without someone harassing her and with thoughts and plans of escape comforting her.

The next day, she woke up to breakfast, albeit a small one, next to her on a table. And… chakra! It was unmistakable, it had all come back. But… it was so unexpected. She ate the food hurriedly, expecting the now unfamiliar feeling of power to dissipate at any moment. But she finished and stepped out the door to see if anyone was there. It was deserted. She stepped up to the door that led to the front door. The one that was always locked, that led to her freedom.

She put her ear up against the door, and concentrated her chakra on her hearing. There was no sound from the rooms beyond, not even breathing. Itachi and Deidara were out, and her chakra was back. _It is them… _She smirked. They'd be coming back to an empty building soon enough.

She gathered chakra to her fist and sent it flying towards the door, but before it was even halfway to the rectangle of stubborn oppressive wood, she heard the front door open. Her chakra disappeared in less than a second, and Sakura dashed back to her room, furious at the escaped opportunity.

But… All she needed to do was distract them enough that they forgot about her, forgot about oppressing her chakra. She needed to make them angry enough at each other that they forgot about her. She knew Deidara would get angry easily enough… But Itachi, his anger simmered below the surface often enough, but to get him to explode at his fellow Akatsuki member would take a little more prodding.

Sakura jumped as the door to her room opened. She hadn't expected anyone to come in. As she saw Deidara come in the door, she breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Itachi.

"What'd you do to Itachi? He's pretty pissed, yeah." Deidara laughed, sounding amused. "Nothing he didn't deserve…" Sakura mumbled. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought. She saw Deidara smirk as well.

"Why are you so happy about this?" She asked Deidara. "Aren't you both a part of the same organization? Same goals and all that..." Deidara nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps… But that doesn't mean we have to get on. Personally, I can't stand him, yeah."

Sakura definitely preferred Deidara to Itachi. "That makes two of us." Deidara was still standing in the doorway. He hadn't invaded her personal space since they had talked in the courtyard. She respected him somewhat more for that. "Hey what happened, un? You used to swear more than Hidan…"

"Well, since Itachi said it was _cute _when I did. It was a turn off." Come to think of it… she hadn't noticed her lack of profanities until the blonde pointed it out. "He's just so disrespectful. He's… he's gone further than you have…" This was a lie, but the deceptions slipped so easily from her mouth that she hardly noticed.

"Further?" He asked raising one eyebrow. "Never mind." She mumbled. "I wouldn't want you to fight over me or anything. That's just… weird." She stared pointedly at the floor.

"There won't be any fighting." Deidara growled. "I'll kill the bastard, yeah." He turned in the doorway, walking into the middle room. As Sakura followed him tentatively into the room, she saw that Itachi was already sitting there reading. It sent chills up her spine. It was as if he was waiting for something, as if he anticipated Deidara's anger. She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt as she swiftly moved over and sat next to Itachi. "He doesn't like to share. He wants you dead. He told me." She whispered, glancing at him. Itachi met and held her gaze for a moment and then stood up as swiftly as she had sat down, glaring at Deidara. As their eyes locked, she could tell this was no friendly competition. Especially as she saw Deidara's hand move to the pouch of clay at his waist, and she felt chakra returning to her, slowly, gradually. It felt like water dripping almost painfully slowly from a leaking tap, but drip by drip it was all coming back.

She glanced up at Itachi and Deidara again, facing each other like duellists on opposite sides of the room. This would be no harmless argument. Far from harmless…

The first move was made, and easily blocked, but Sakura had turned her attention away from them. She stared down at her hands, now glowing faintly blue with her chakra. She stared at the locked door that she needed to get through and quickly broke it with a swift palm strike to its hinges. She used the sounds of fighting to disguise the noise. Once through there the front door was easy. And explosion shook the entire building, and she distinctly heard a part of the roof cave in. The front door crumbled when she hardly even poked it and she fled out the opening, to freedom.

-x-

_What the hell is going on?_ Sakura looked back behind her. The simple building she had come out of was a good distance behind, and still she could see no one coming from it. But ahead of her, she could also see Konoha, only perhaps half an hour away. To think that she had been so close to it all along… But as much as she walked, the village in front of her got no closer. After three or so hours, it still only looked half an hour away. It was disorienting, and she had no idea what was going on. Eventually even the building behind her disappeared, but she was still no closer to the Hidden Leaf village. She started running, in the vague hope that she might get there if she went faster, but as she started running, she made out two figures coming out of Konoha in front of her. She wished it could have been Kakashi and Naruto, or some other Leaf-ninja. She even wished it could have looked even slightly like them. But there was no mistake who it was. But how, and why, did they come out of the seemingly unreachable Konoha?

"Please no…" She thought she knew what was going on, but hoped that she was wrong. Itachi caught her eye and nodded knowingly, Deidara was grinning widely. She glared at them and put her hands together, fervently hoping nothing would happen. "Kai!"

The landscape around her dissolved into the middle room of the building, sitting next to Itachi on the lounge, With Deidara standing behind it. "You bastard." She glared at Itachi. "You used genjustu on me, bastard. I wish Deidara would go ahead and kill you."

Itachi laughed and stood up, going over to Deidara.

"It looks like you won." He handed some money over to the blonde, who pocketed it with a smirk. "Wait a minute…" Sakura stood up quickly. "You were _betting_? On what?" All she knew was there was something going on to do with her, and she wasn't in on it. "We just wanted to see who could get you to like them first." Itachi said nonchalantly.

"And you think I like Deidara?" Sakura laughed. "Not a chance." Though while she said that so easily, she wasn't so sure inside. Itachi raised his eyebrows. "Well you believed that we liked you…" His voice was condescending. "Ha. Why would anyone ever like a short bitch like you?" Sakura was trembling, with rage and with shock. "So everything was just…"

"A game." Deidara cut in. "While we wait for Kyuubi." If she could have, Sakura would have killed both of them there. She headed towards the door of her room, now shaking with anger.

"Next time play fucking Monopoly!" She shouted at them, slamming the door behind her. Again she fervently prayed that Naruto wouldn't fall for the blatant trap. She wished she had some way of contacting them…

-x-

"Go away." Sakura growled as she heard the door opening. She was lying on the bed, harbouring thoughts of resentment. Maybe she was just sulking, because she found out she wasn't as special as she thought she was. But she didn't think of it that way. "I hate you more than I did before. And once I get out of here, I'll find you and kill your sorry ass." She glared at Deidara who, as always, stood perfectly still in the doorway.

"I'm sorry." He said simply. "I didn't want to trick you like that." Sakura rolled her eyes. Yeah. Sure. "So I suppose its all Itachi's fault then?" Deidara definitely wasn't himself. He sounded so honest. Yet he must have been lying. "I wasn't lying to you before, un. When I said you were beautiful." He sounded genuinely contrite. When Sakura didn't answer, he went on. "Itachi was lying too, yeah. He does like you. Or more… lust. He just can't cope with rejection, un, and when you slapped him… I had to play along with him before as well, so he didn't figure out what I'm going to do. For you." There was still more silence from the pink haired kunoichi and Deidara stepped inside the room, closing the door. "Sure it started out as a game, yeah. But now… I'm in too deep… Sakura-chan."

"What? What do you mean?" Sakura was shocked. She had almost forgotten about her mistrust of the blonde. "I'll kill you if you're lying again…"

"What I'm trying to say is… I love you, un. And I want to help you. I'll help you escape under one condition." Deidara's voice was so soft that Sakura could hardly hear him, so she moved closer to him. "What?"

"I'll help you escape if I can come with you. Yeah." He smiled at her, slightly. "But… If you came to Konoha, they'd kill or capture you." She said without thinking. _What? Why didn't I say no? _Sakura was confusing herself.

"I can hide, un. You wouldn't give me away would you?" He sounded serious. For once. "N-no. I guess not." She was actually starting to consider it. And not just to get back to Konoha… What about Akatsuki? Won't they notice you missing?"

"We can spread a rumour that you killed me in order to escape or something. Then it's settled." He grinned again, and it was like the usual Deidara was back. He took Sakura's hand and pulled her towards him, this time not forcefully, but gently. And she didn't resist. So he kissed her, Sakura's _real _first kiss. It was a kiss of love instead of possession and deception.

"Now I think you really won that bet…" She murmured to him.

-x-

The next morning, Sakura woke to a knock on the door. "Ughh…" She groaned as she peered at the opening door, and the blonde head that poked through it. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she climbed out of her bed, glad she slept in her clothes.

"I'm glad I'm never going to see Itachi again. I told him there was a Bijuu somewhere in the Wave Country, which he left to try and find. But anyway… Come, un." Sakura stood up with a smile, following Deidara out the door. This time, escape was easy- simply walking out the front door. Sakura followed him, and she was glad that Deidara was with her, because without him she surely would have been lost. She found that they really weren't that far from Konoha, but the way was complicated, especially since he took great measures to avoid being seen.

"Akatsuki have spies everywhere, un." He confided in her, which just made Sakura more nervous. Itachi didn't seem like the type to be fooled so easily. But he probably wouldn't think Deidara would let her escape.

"But really, why are you doing this?" Sakura asked him after a while of walking in silence. "Doesn't it worry you that you'd have to live in hiding, for who knows how long? Wouldn't it just be better for you to stay with Akatsuki?" Deidara stared at her. "Ha. Living with the Akatsuki is even worse than living in hiding… I can't stand the others. Someday soon, they'll all just kill each other."

"I can't wait…" Sakura muttered, making Deidara laugh. "But really, do you just not want me to come with you?" He asked hesitantly.

"No… I do, I just thought…" She sighed and went quiet, concentrating on walking again. Soon enough, Konoha was in sight and Sakura took the lead. They snuck in through the back streets of the busy village, carefully and quietly.

Sakura's heart raced as she imagined what might happen if she was caught leading one of the most formidable members of Akatsuki into the centre of Konoha. If they were caught, she wouldn't turn on Deidara. She couldn't. After all, he was risking his life to rescue her, she couldn't just turn him in. Hopefully she wouldn't have to make that choice.

"Stop." She whispered, pulling Deidara into the shadows in the corner of the street. She had heard familiar voices, close to where they were. Only a few seconds later, Naruto came down the narrow street, followed by Hinata and Kiba. "Tomorrow we're going after Sakura-chan. Kakashi-sensei just found out where she was. I knew she shouldn't have gone to Suna for Tsunade-sama. Not by herself at least…"

"Shit…" Sakura swore under her breath. After she got home, she'd have to find Naruto before he ran off into the trap set for him. "Come on." Resisting the urge to run after her friends, she led him back to her somewhat small home. "Can you… wait here for a while?" Sakura asked Deidara tentatively. He nodded and she dashed out the door, heading for Naruto's place.

Sakura knocked on the door, breathing hard. He opened the door, staring in almost disbelief at Sakura. "Sa-sakura-chan?" He laughed and threw his arms around her happily, dragging her inside.

"What happened? It was Akatsuki, right? How did you escape?" He questioned her, before she even had a chance to say hello.

"Yeah… It was Akatsuki. They kidnapped me, on my way to Suna. They didn't treat me that bad. I'm not hurt. When I escaped I uh… I killed Deidara." She explained, hesitating a little as she lied to one of her closest friends.

"What? That bastard? Aw, I wanted to kill him, Sakura-chan!" He complained, and Sakura's stomach twisted with the lie. She worried that if she lied for too long, she'd give Deidara away. But it was too late to do anything about it. There was a missing-nin hiding in her house, and she was lying about him to everyone.

She chatted with him for a while, trying to skirt the topic of her abduction, sticking to what happened in Konoha while she was gone. Eventually she excused herself, eager to get back to Deidara. She was amazed how quickly hate had turned to love with him; and she didn't even know how it happened.

By the time she got back, it was dark. She found Deidara standing in her bedroom, facing the window. "Hey, what are you doing?" Halfway through, the sentence turned into a shout as he turned around. That wasn't Deidara. It was Itachi.

"How the hell did you get away?" He demanded. "Where is that motherfucker Deidara?" He was close to exploding. She could tell, having spent so long with him. There was no way he could take her again, not from the middle of Konoha.

"I killed him." She lied defiantly. It was so easy to lie to _him_. "I killed him and if you ever come back here, I'll kill you too." She felt strengthened by being back at her home, in a place familiar to her.

"So go away." She said defiantly.

Itachi calmed slightly. "Fine." He turned towards the window again. "But next time you leave Konoha, next time you go on a mission, be ready for me. This isn't about Kyuubi anymore. Even if we get it, I'll still come for you." He leaped out the window, moving so fast that Sakura couldn't follow his movements.

"I'm so sorry, un." Deidara came from the adjoining room just a few minutes after Itachi had left. "I shouldn't have hidden while he was here, leaving you by yourself."

"No it was fine!" Sakura assured him. "If he found you here, he might have killed you or… or something. But we're both safe. We're both fine."

"So you're not angry, yeah?" He asked, looking guilty.

"Yeah." She replied in the same vein. "I love you."

**Argh! I have a problem with ending stories with 'I love you' But I like it. So… everyone else will just have to live with it. So how sweet was that? Feel good story of the year? No? I don't mind, just tell me what you thought of it. But that's it for this story.**

**Peace out!**

**s2- Envy**


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